Indiana offense could give Penn State's defense fits

Penn State has played one month and four games and an entire nonconference schedule, and what's really been learned about its defense can be summed up in one tidy word.

Nothing.

Sure, that's a bit simplistic. Because we have learned DaQuan Jones can really take over a game at defensive tackle, and that Glenn Carson is more than just the guy consuming all the tackles.

But as far as the overall scheme goes, and as far as the way Penn State is going to have to handle another spread offense when the Big Ten schedule opens up in Indiana, nothing is different.

And that should be a concern.

These aren't your father's hapless Hoosiers after all. They have a quarterback in Nate Sudfeld who already has thrown 14 touchdown passes. They have a slick, fast, durable receiving corps that can get the ball and create yardage after the catch. They have a coach in Kevin Wilson who is offense-centered and a nationally renowned play-caller. This may not be a team that will win every week, but it will be a handful for opposing defenses to handle every time it takes the field.

And that's not my scouting report.

It's Nittany Lions coach Bill O'Brien's.

It's also the scouting report on just about every offense that has been able to take Penn State's defense out of its comfort zone the last handful of seasons.

If you watched Penn State play defense in 1993 and 2003, you pretty much have the idea of what it's trying to do in 2013. The defensive line eats up the linemen. The linebackers, as unabated as the defensive line will allow, will bring down the running backs as close to the line as possible. The secondary will cover receivers as long as they can on passing downs to allow the front four to rush the quarterback.

There's not much blitzing, and some weeks, there won't be any. There's little muss and fuss, and there's little attempt to confuse the offense. It's a style as direct as it is overpowering, basic as it is effective, and that's why Penn State has been employing it for so many successful seasons. The Nittany Lions have built the program on this style.

It's undeniable though that certain teams and styles have done well against this. Teams that ask their quarterback to get rid of the ball after a three-step drop. Teams with receivers that can make plays in space. Teams that occasionally are not afraid to pop a deep route.

Since the 2011 season, Penn State has faced Indiana, Northwestern, Houston, Central Florida and Ohio - pass-first teams that use spread formations as a base and have viable vertical passing games - seven times.

In those games:

Penn State is 4-3, and the three losses came against nonconference spread teams.

Opponents are averaging 77.5 plays per game.

Opponents are averaging 315.6 passing yards.

Penn State has forced just seven turnovers.

Penn State has just 17 sacks. Take away the Northwestern game in 2011 and Indiana game last season, they have just five.

So, how does it make sense that the teams running more plays against Penn State are turning it over less and protecting their quarterbacks better?

Simple. The style of offense those teams play is designed to combat exactly what teams like Penn State want to do on defense. It wants its defensive line and linebackers to be the stars, but it forces them to defend the pass more than the run. A good pass rush takes time to develop. But it doesn't have time when the quarterback is getting rid of the ball before a good defensive end can make a double move.

Penn State has to do something against these teams it doesn't want to do: Be patient. It has to admit to itself that it can't get to the quarterback, because the quarterback won't stand back in the pocket long enough. It has to admit stuffing the run won't matter as much as it did in the past, because running the ball, for Indiana, would simply be a bonus.

Penn State will have to disrupt against Indiana, not overpower.

"You see it more and more with our guys in college football, and in pro football with quick drops: Guys getting their hands up," O'Brien said. "It's part of the rush philosophy. If it's a three-step drop, and the ball is coming out quick, some type of a slip screen and the ball is coming out quick, it's useless to try to keep fighting to get there or get a sack. Because you're not going to sack the guy.

"You need to figure out ways to get into the passing lanes and block the ball."

It's not necessarily Penn State football. But it's the only chance defenses have against some of the fast-moving, precise offenses in college football today.

If Penn State tries to play the way it always used to on Saturday, it will stand a good chance of losing to the Hoosiers for the first time. It will have to be different to be effective, and for that defense, change has always been a tough opponent.

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